The Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC) Wraps Up It’s 2016 Signature Leadership Summit and Awards Gala Benefitting The HITEC Foundation

Nearly 300 IT business executives and senior leaders gathered at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco, CA on October 26-28 for our signature 2016 HITEC Silicon Valley Leadership Summit & Awards Gala Benefiting The HITEC Foundation.

This two-day event hosted by Salesforce featured a great lineup of top technology trendsetters from across the country and recognized the Emerging Executive Program, Class of 2016.

On the evening of October 28, the Awards Gala, Benefiting the HITEC Foundation, got off to an emotional start as student and Cisco intern, Mayra Luna, shared her journey and expressed her gratitude for the financial support she received to fulfill a dream of hers to attend Harvard. There wasn’t a dry-eye in the house.

The HITEC Foundation raised more than $190,000 through a combination of auctioning off exclusive travel packages, unique opportunities such as lunch with The Chief Information Officer of the United States and generous contributions made by individual HITEC Members, Corporate Sponsors, such as Fannie Mae that donated $50,000, and friends. Thank you to everyone who donated!

The evening closed with the Awards Ceremony honoring the Top 100 Latino Technology Leaders from across the country with the prestigious HITEC 100 Award and Corporate Awards. Below you will find highlights from the two-day event.

For all those who were unable to attend the Gala but would like to make a difference, please Text to Donate and be part of this initiative!

HITEC Women's Breakfast

The summit opened with our HITEC Women’s Breakfast Series sponsored by Accenture. The 90-minute session focused on ‘Girls and STEM’ and what we can do today to spark early interest in IT. The breakfast was led by Rocio Lopez, Director of IT, Accenture, and HITEC Board Member and Senior Director of IT at Cisco, Ileana Rivera.

“Know your roots. Never be ashamed of your language, culture and humility. Learn about the traditions of your culture and let it help drive the leader you will be.”

Miguel Gamino, Jr., Chief Information Officer of San Francisco, gave a dynamic HITEC Style TED Talk. Key Take-Away:
“Have the courage to be the best version of yourself. The mold is what you make of it. So create it. Then break it. And mold it again.”

Latinas in Tech: A panel of influential, ambitious and energetic Latina IT Leaders shared their unique experiences and the challenges they have encountered in their desire to succeed in a predominantly male dominated industry. As trailblazers among their families, they are simultaneously breaking cultural barriers and managing cultural expectations, which results in a feeling of ‘otherness’ both at work and at home.”

Great fireside chat with Ernesto Boada, Vice President of Customer Experience Technology, Intuit and Elba Linscott, Offering Program Manager Mobile Apps, Intuit. Boada gave attendees insight into how Intuit uses the customer experience and customer insights to create brand loyalty and how it impacts their bottom line.